Petaluma hunter fatally shot in Lake County

A Petaluma man on a deer hunting trip with family and friends in the rugged Mendocino National Forest was accidentally shot and killed Saturday evening, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.|

A Petaluma man on a deer hunting trip with family and friends in the rugged Mendocino National Forest was accidentally shot and killed Saturday evening, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The 52-year-old man was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead shortly afterward, said Lake County acting Undersheriff Chris Macedo.

“There’s nothing to make us believe foul play has occurred,” acting Undersheriff Chris Macedo said.

The victim’s family members phoned for help at about 5 p.m., according to Cal Fire Capt. Amy Head.

Emergency crews from Calstar and Cal Fire arrived on scene - about eight miles northeast of Upper Lake - by air while the Northshore Fire Protection District and Forest Service personnel arrived by ground after determining where the victim was located.

While the victim’s family had cell phones, the signals weren’t strong enough for their GPS systems to be utilized and they had difficulty communicating their location because they spoke only Spanish, said Pat Brown, Northshore’s deputy fire chief.

“There was a huge language barrier,” he said.

The victim was located near French Ridge, just below the High Glade lookout tower, he said.

Cal Fire’s crews lifted the victim out by helicopter, then transferred him to the Calstar helicopter, which flew him to the hospital, Brown said.

At least 16 emergency workers responded to the location, he said.

“It takes a lot of people to do this,” Brown said.

This is the department’s fifth emergency call involving hunters in the national forest since deer hunting season began two weeks ago, Brown said.

They included a person who fell down a ravine and broke his hip and a person with a horse-related injury, he said.

“There’s a lot of people up there hunting,” Brown said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter

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